Fringe Benefits Notice: For more information regarding GSU's FY12 fringe benefits changes, please read through the Fringe Benefits and Rates on Sponsored Programs web pages.
Research Financial Services (RFS) ensures that the university complies with all fiscal provisions of contracts, grants, and other agreements. Generally accepted accounting and reporting practices are followed in the management and administration of sponsored projects and programs. Consideration is also given to cost principles and standards promulgated by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletins and Circulars, including OMB Circulars A-21, A-110, A-133 (see information below) as well as to specific terms and conditions of each individual award which accompany the notice of award received by the PI/PD.
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There are sponsor, federal, state, local and university rules and regulations that govern expenditures made against sponsored awards. Described below are some areas of compliance. This list is in no way exhaustive. It simply outlines the more common areas of concern. You are encouraged to familiarize yourself with these areas and determine which apply to your award and adhere to them. If any guidance is required, your RFS Officer is available to advise you.
Federal guidelines are usually quite broad covering the majority of federal agencies, but each agency could have more restrictive requirements depending on the type of the award. Most federal awards will require compliance with OMB Circulars A-110, A-21, and A-133. These circulars are quite complex. OSP and RFS staff are well-versed in these regulations. Please consult your assigned OSP and RFS contacts if you have specific questions.
In addition to the sponsor and federal requirements, the State of Georgia and Georgia State University have their own regulations. Many of the regulations for the University System of Georgia are found in the Board of Regents Policy Manual. Procedures established by Georgia State Finance and Administration must be followed for sponsored projects and will ensure compliance with state regulations. Again, contact OSP and RFS staff for assistance with understanding these regulations.
In many instances, private sponsors will utilize the same federal regulation circulars in addition to any specific regulations they may have. Also, individual awards may have different requirements, even if they come from the same sponsor. Some sponsors, such as the American Heart Association, categorize awards with different regulations for each funding category. Project-specific regulations should be outlined in the award documentation. This documentation should be reviewed for each new award. [back to top]
In order to appropriately administer and closeout awards within the University’s financial system, projects are categorized into two distinct types: cost-reimbursable and fixed-price.
The majority of awards received by Georgia State University require compliance with the cost principles addressed in OMB Circular A-21 and in GSU’s Direct Cost Charging Policy. PIs should refer to the Direct Cost Charging Procedures document for instructions about determining allowed costs and treatment of various costs on sponsored awards. [back to top]
Award budgets in Spectrum+ are divided into budget categories based on the budget information in the proposal and including any budget modifications completed in the award negotiations. The budget categories are those used by Georgia State and are not necessarily the same as those required by the sponsored agency.
All awarded budgets are divided into the following budget categories (determined by the university's financial system Spectrum+): faculty academic year salary, faculty summer salary, 12 month faculty and staff salary, graduate assistants, part-time instructors, other salaries, fringe benefits (totaled to personnel costs). Travel, operational supplies (includes supplies, P-cards, human respondent fees etc), consultants (including fee and expenses), subcontracts (listed separately for each subcontract and split between first $25,000 and rest of subcontract), participant costs/stipends, equipment. [back to top]
Purchases from a sponsored award or contract must be allowable, allocable and reasonable, according to the Direct Cost Charging Policy. All charges must be allowable for the project. Although charges should follow as closely as possible the detailed budget in the award/contract, how much flexibility is allowed by the sponsor is determined by the terms and conditions of the award (see rebudgeting section). Information below should help determine whether expenses related to a sponsored project or contract are allowable or unallowable and, for some items, under what circumstances allowability might change. In the event that there is any question about the allowability of an expense, the PI/PD should contact their RFS representative for clarification. Also, as a state institution, Georgia State must follow all State of Georgia policies regarding purchasing (see http://www.usg.edu/business_procedures_manual/section3/), including policies regarding the use of minority suppliers/vendors for certain purchases. [back to top]
Extra compensation may be granted when work is done outside normal business hours and above whatever the normal full time Full Time Equivalent (FTE) is for the individual and only on these two conditions 1. approved by the sponsor agency, 2. if it adheres to the Board of Regents Policy on Extra Compensation, Section 8.3.12. With government regulations becoming more stringent, it is imperative that the university community understand and comply with the existing guidelines concerning the payment of extra compensation on sponsored projects.
Capital equipment is defined as any unit item with a life expectancy of a least one year and having an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more. Shipping, taxes, in-transit insurance and installation charges should be included under this category for new purchases, provided these costs are included on the original purchase order.
When ordering capital equipment, which is inventoried and decaled, you must follow Georgia State's Property Accounting Policy and Procedures.
Fabricated equipment is defined as special purpose equipment that is to be assembled or fabricated that will result in an article of nonexpendable tangible property having a useful life of at least one year, and total acquisition cost of $5,000 or more. The fabricated unit consists of items or assemblies of parts that are interconnected and interdependent so as to become a new functional entity for a special purpose. Please contact Menetha Alston (404-413-3027) in Georgia State's Office of Accounting Services for the correct procedures for charging fabricated equipment so it gets charged as equipment, not supplies.
F&A is not charged on capital or fabricated equipment.
Purchase of equipment that does not fit the definition of either capital or fabricated equipment are considered supplies. [back to top]
Purchases for a sponsored project can be charged with a Georgia State charge card, called a green card, for miscellaneous items such as paper, folders, binders, printing, university parking charges, etc., from Georgia State service providers such as the university bookstore, supply room, Office of Auxiliary Services, etc. Requests for a green card should be made directly to your RFS representative who will get the necessary information from you when you contact them.
Cost sharing is a contractual obligation committing the university to share in the costs of a sponsored award, usually made at the time a proposal is submitted to an agency. The proper documentation of cost share has been a major target of audits making it the second leading area of cost disallowances. In addition, it is essential data used to support the F&A rate proposal. Therefore, it is crucial that everyone involved in the financial administration of a sponsored award properly monitor and document cost share associated with that award. PIs should refer to the Cost Sharing Policy and Procedures document for details about monitoring and documenting cost sharing.
Salary and Wages - All cost shared salaries and wages will be directly charged to the companion account via the PAF form Section E, “Earnings Distribution." The companion account number will be indicated under the speedtype code column.
Travel, Supplies and Material, Equipment (Non-Personnel) - Non-personnel charges will be processed directly against the companion account number utilizing the assigned speedtype (e.g., ED41) which will ensure expenses are charged to the appropriate account. [back to top]
Pre- and post-award information about subcontracts can be found on the Subcontracts, Consultants and Vendors webpage. [back to top]
Re-budgeting within awarded budget line items is usually possible, however, the sponsoring agencies have different restrictions on deviations from the approved budget. It is important to know the terms and conditions of your award. For some, you need sponsor approval only when you rebudget more than 25% of the total project budget; for others you need approval when you rebudget 10% of a budget category. You can consult your OSP officer if you do not know the conditions of your award. When re-budgeting requires approval by the sponsoring agencies, a formal written request with accompanying justification and a completed IPAS Form (re-budgeting section) must be made and processed through OSP. Many awards allow some changes to occur at the discretion of the PI (under expanded authorities). In these cases, the re-budgeting section of the IPAS Form must be completed and sent to the assigned RFS staff if rebudgeting. [back to top]
Cost transfers between accounts are typically used to correct charges inadvertently made to the wrong account. However, it is important to note that cost transfers are red flags to auditors. As a result, Georgia State has a Cost Transfer Policy that provides specific regulations about the use of cost transfers in order to minimize auditing issues that may arise.
The following scenarios are red flags that are usually picked up by auditors (try to avoid these!):
1. Cost transfers within 90 days of a project’s end date.
2. Cost transfers without a detailed explanation or with an unacceptable explanation (to spend remaining money, etc.)
3. Large number of cost transfers.
4. Cost transfers near the end of a project or several cost transfers onto a sponsored project.
5. Cost transfers among closely related projects. [back to top]
These reports can be obtained at any time through Spectrum+ and provide an itemized review of expenses charged to a sponsored award for any specified period of time. You can obtain reports for both sponsored projects and cost share companion accounts. These drilldown reports are frequently given to PIs by their business managers in order for them to perform the required expenditure review.
The federal government's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 regulations (Section J.10) requires that each institution maintain an acceptable effort reporting system. Georgia State requires certification for effort expended on any sponsored project. For financial reporting purposes, the university also requires employees to estimate the proportion of their University-funded effort that is expended on research and instruction. Changes in effort of the key personnel of more than 25% frequently must be approved by the sponsoring agency. See the university's Personnel Effort Reporting Policy for more details about PERS regulations.
Service or recharge centers are internal service operations where goods and services are sold predominantly to other users within the university. These can include departmental stockrooms, machine or instrumentation shops, core facilities, etc. Prices of services are set with the goal of breaking even. So, prices to internal (Georgia State) users are set to recover the costs of operation and supplies. Sales and service accounts are set up for each service center to receive funds from other Georgia State accounts, such as sponsored award accounts when services are used for work on a sponsored project. More information about the regulations and use of Service Centers can be found in the university’s Service Center Charge Policy and Procedures. [back to top]
Program income may be generated as a result of research, training, and public service-related activities and, in some cases, must be reported to the sponsor. Federal sponsors have documented in OMB Circular A-110 and the applicable Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) explicit processes to be used to identify, record, report, and monitor income that is generated during the project period. To be consistent in managing program income, Georgia State extends the requirements to non-federal sponsors as outlined in the university’s Program Income Policy. The nature of this income must be appropriately documented and the resulting revenue properly recorded. This income must also be deposited into an appropriate account. This policy and its procedures address the definition, management, reporting, and monitoring of program income, in accordance with federal and university requirements. Instructions about how to treat sponsored program income can be found in Program Income Procedures document.
Some sponsoring agencies require that income generated by work on an award be deducted from the total budget (indirectly returned to the agency) while other agencies allow revenue to be used as additional funding for that project. There are also situations where revenue can be kept in a separate account until after the project is over when any remaining revenue funds can be distributed for other use. Contact your RFS representative for more details. [back to top]
These reports are considered deliverables that must be completed and submitted in a timely manner to ensure continued funding of an award. With few exceptions, every sponsored project will require a number of reports during the life of the project and most certainly at its conclusion.